The Relationship Between the Words and the Appointment of Imāmate

After mentioning the test of Abraham (a.s.) with the “words” and his completion of them, God, the Exalted, declared: “I will make you an Imām for the people” [2:124]. The connection between the condition and the result, or the cause and effect, indicates that there is a clear link between those “words” and the appointment of Imāma, at least in the case of Abraham, the Friend of God.

As explained earlier in the discussion on what “idh” is connected to, if “idh” is understood to be linked to “qāla” (He said), then this link becomes even more evident.

However, if idh is assumed to be connected to an implied “remember” (udhkur), then no more than a circumstantial and temporal connection can be inferred; although a subtle allusion is still present. The fact that the verse does not say “then He said, ‘Indeed I...’” but simply “He said, ‘Indeed I...’”—without the conjunction fāʾ (then)—indicates that there is no sequential order implied, suggesting it is a pure bestowal.(38) Nevertheless, the necessary groundwork had to be laid for this divine gift, despite it not being bound by chronological order.

Reminder: The profound insight held by some people of spiritual vision—that the Imāma of His Eminence, the Friend of God, was a pure bestowal,(39) with the previous tests having no direct role in earning this great blessing—is more consistent with the implied “remember” (udhkur) than with it being connected to “He said”. In the latter case, while there is no explicit indication of a necessary relationship between the test and the appointment of Imāma, it does still subtly allude to such a connection. However, when connected to “remember”, although one could infer such an allusion, the apparent meaning of Imāma as a pure and unconditional bestowal is more prominent.